Why should we do the unplugged steps before launching the computer? Because design is a visual business, art is a visual endeavor and visual fields require visual thinking. The right side of the brain needs to be tapped and the creative pump needs to be primed.

If you don’t prime a pump? If you walk up to a pump and just start pumping you get nothing but air, no water. Likewise, sit at a computer and just start messing with a program, without a valid visual concept and you get quick results that have no substance.

Remember that computers are getting faster and faster. More and more powerful. You’ll get a really bad idea really fast. Athletes go through spring or summer training camps in order to get ready for the season. Pick your favorite pro football quarterback, Tom, Peyton, Big Ben, anyone. Despite all their talent, experience and knowledge they still put in the time to loosen up, get in shape and prepare. The really good ones still put in their time at training camp, covering the basics. It’s the same with design (except that we don’t get $38 million contracts) a pro must still do the unplugged preliminaries because right brain, eyes and hands must be in sync for a great idea to “accidentally” pop up. To quote Mark Hughes, Graphic Designer for Disney’s Event Group Creative Team, “The inexperienced professional can save himself a lot of time and heartache by sketching out some ideas and then ruling some of these possibilities out long before they waste a lot of time rendering a bad thought on their computer. I have over 30 years experience as a graphic designer and I still have a drawing pad next to my living room chair where I sketch out ideas.”

The theory driving this, is the importance of returning to what I call “unplugged design” and that for the preliminary art and design stages, a good artist / designer must utilize the traditional hands-on skills of our heritage. The beginnings of the creative process demand traditional, time-tested unplugged skills. The later stages of the process, the layout and preparation, the pre-press setup, and in some cases, such as web pages, the final production, should, and do, require digital execution.

So, don’t fire up and launch your Mac or PC until you have that great idea. Start with thinking, brainstorming and pencil and paper and you’ll find that your designs are better when they are built on better ideas.

Be sure to register to be on our Village List and watch for our growing curriculum of courses on art, design and creativity.

Ron Plante, Le Grand Fromage

THE ART-DESIGN VILLAGE